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Comet Jacques (C/2014 E2) high in the sky during September

Comet Jacques is now past its best but remains well placed for observation high in the sky during the second half of September. In July when at its brightest, Jacques reached the cusp of naked eye visibility; just too faint to be seen without optical aid but nevertheless a superb sight in binoculars, telescopes and a wonderful object for astro imagers.

Location and star chart

The comet is currently traveling in a south-westerly direction. It started September by moving into Cygnus from Cepheus where it remains until the middle of the month. During this period it traveled almost parallel to the body of the "Swan" and on September 14th passes a degree east of beautiful double star Albireo (β Cyg - mag. +3.0). Later on the same day Jacques moves into Vulpecula and on September 21st passes just west of the large open cluster Collinder 399; more commonly know as the "Coathanger". This loose star grouping is easily visible in binoculars and does look remarkably like a Coathanger! Jacques then crosses into Sagitta and onto Aquila (Sep 24th), where it stays for the remainder of the month.

The comet is expected to dim from magnitude +7.6 to +9.9 as the month progresses. During the second part of the month, it's visible relatively high in the sky after sunset from most locations as soon as it's dark enough. It should be visible with small telescopes during this time, although it will start to become more and more difficult to spot with binoculars as it dims. It may also be difficult to see against the rich Milky Way background that fills this part of the sky.

The finder chart below shows the positions of Jacques from September 10th to September 23rd, 2014.